The present invention relates to a Kirschner wire clamp for positioning a bone plate, in particular a Kirschner wire clamp, which allows more precise, easier and simpler positioning of a bone plate on a bone surface.
In the treatment of bone fractures it is helpful and sometimes necessary that, prior to fixation of a fracture by bone plates, the fracture itself is stabilized. This is, in particular, helpful or necessary in cases where the bone fracture not only comprises two fragments but a multitude of fragments. In this case it may be necessary to stabilize the multitude of fragments in their original position before fastening corresponding bone plates and bone screws for fixation of the fracture. Such stabilization and preliminary fixation are often achieved by so-called Kirschner wires, whose tips comprise a cutter that makes it possible, by a corresponding drill, to drill the Kirschner wires into and through the bone or the bone fragments and in this way to stabilize the bone fragments relative to each other. However, these Kirschner wires may be inadequate for fixation until final healing, so that subsequent positioning of bone plates needs to take place. In this process, Kirschner wires can be used to support positioning of a bone plate to be put in place. For this purpose, for example, a bone plate is placed on the corresponding bone surface, and a Kirschner wire is placed through a hole in the bone plate. A Kirschner wire clamp is placed on a Kirschner wire anchored in the bone. The bone plate can be placed on the bone or on the bone surface, and can also be fastened to the wire, such that the corresponding bone screws can be fixed simply and reliably through the remaining free openings or through-holes in the bone plate. By temporary attachment of the plate, additional hands (operating theatre personnel) can be saved, and, in order to check whether the fracture has been restored properly, the bone can be moved and rotated without the plate falling off, in particular if the plate is in an upside-down position as a result of rotation of the bone.
However, the Kirschner wire clamps known from prior art are difficult to handle, making it hard to carry out satisfactory preliminary fixation of a bone plate, comprise only limited functionality, or require significantly more time and space for their use.